Retired detective Jackie Malton helped writer Lynda La Plante nail her characters. She talks about the misogyny and homophobia she endured in her early years
When Jackie Malton joined the police in 1970, she discovered that her nickname was “Cocky Chops”, and was told that she was only gay because she hadn’t yet met the right man. She could hardly have imagined that one day she would become the model for a hit television drama series.
A friend who had retired from the Metropolitan police introduced Malton to Lynda La Plante in 1990 when the writer was in the process of creating Prime Suspect with a female character as the lead detective. The two women met at La Plante’s house in south-west London. “She showed me the script. I said ‘it’s great and it’s a great title’.”
